


5 times they shared a bed before they started sleeping together + 1 time they shared a bed after they started sleeping together

by lavenderlotion



Series: does not tremble when your depths tremble [2]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Love, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dreams, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fear, Flirting, Forehead Kisses, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kisses, M/M, Making Out, Mutant Powers, Mutation, Nightmares, Pain, Pet Names, Pre-Canon, Protective Cain Marko, Protective Charles Xavier, Protectiveness, Step-Brothers, Step-Sibling Incest, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:47:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28194204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/pseuds/lavenderlotion
Summary: Charles took another deep breath and reminded himself that Cain was his big brother now. That meant that Cain loved him lots, which he said all the time, and that it would be okay.
Relationships: Cain Marko/Charles Xavier
Series: does not tremble when your depths tremble [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057949
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	5 times they shared a bed before they started sleeping together + 1 time they shared a bed after they started sleeping together

**Author's Note:**

> Tags I wish existed for this fic: "Totally Non-Brotherly Brotherly Cuddles", "They Think It's Just Brotherly Love But Actually It's Incest", “Charles Stop Trying to Fuck Your Brother”
> 
> HUGE THANKS to [Step](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsertSthMeaningful) for the cheerleading and the hand-holding and the beta'ing and the...just general fact that you like these two as well lmao. you are hugely appreciated!

**1.**

Charles hesitated at the door to his step-brother’s room for long minutes. He wasn’t sure if he should go in. Would Cain be mad? Charles  _ really _ didn’t want to make Cain mad. Cain was  _ never _ mean to him, but Mr. Marko was mean when  _ he _ was mad and Cain was his son so... maybe he would be mean if Charles made him mad enough. But Cain had told him, when he first moved into Charles’ house and became his brother, that Charles could come to him  _ whenever _ he needed him, for anything at all. 

He said that he was Charles’ big brother now, and that meant he would always keep Charles safe. 

Did that mean that he would keep Charles safe from nightmares? 

Maybe he didn’t mean nightmares. After all, it wasn’t like anyone had  _ hurt _ Charles. He was just scared. Really, really scared. Their house was so  _ big, _ so dark, and his mother had moved out of her and Father’s bedroom because Mr. Marko didn’t want to sleep on the same floor as his sons. That meant that his mother wasn’t down the hall like she’d always been, and Charles couldn’t go to her. 

That’s why he was at Cain’s door. Cain was just across the hall. Charles looked back to where his bedroom door was still open and then looked down at the blanket he was carrying with him. He... really didn’t want to go back to his room. Not at all. And Cain hadn’t ever lied to him yet, not about anything, and it had been  _ months _ that they’d been living together, which probably meant that he was telling the truth when he said he’d protect Charles. 

Hopefully, that meant from nightmares too. 

Taking a deep breath, Charles reached for the door knobw and turned it open slowly. He didn’t want to make any noises—it was  _ really _ late—and he pushed the door open even slower. Charles made sure to bring his blanket into the room before he closed the door again, not wanting to be rude. 

Cain’s room was a lot like his own, but he didn’t have all the books that Charles had. He very quickly walked across the carpeted floor and stopped by Cain’s bed, which was bigger than Charles’ but not as big as Mother’s. He could see Cain, who  _ was _ asleep, but only his face. The rest of him was all under his blanket, which was tucked right up under Cain’s chin. 

Charles started to worry again. Cain was sleeping, which wasn’t very good. Maybe Charles shouldn’t wake him up. But... even looking around Cain’s room, Charles felt like the darkness was creeping up on him, following him from his nightmare about Father. He  _ really _ didn’t think he could go back to sleep in his own room, and he would get in trouble if he wandered about so late at night. 

He didn’t want to get in trouble. 

Charles took another deep breath and reminded himself that Cain was his big brother now. That meant that Cain loved him lots, which he said  _ all _ the time, and that it would be okay. 

“C-Cain?” Charles whispered. When that didn’t do anything, he poked his big brother in the chin. “Cain, are you awake?”

“Ngh,” Cain said, and then he made a funny snorting noise that pulled a giggle from Charles’ lips even if he still felt really bad and shaky. He poked Cain again, and then his brother blinked a lot really fast before he looked at him. “Charlie?”

No one but Cain called him Charlie. Charles didn’t like it at first, but he didn’t want to say anything to make Cain not like him, so he didn’t tell him. Cain kept using it—because Charles hadn’t told him he didn’t like it—and one day it didn’t bother him anymore. Only Cain ever called him Charlie, which meant that it was special just for Cain, and Charles really liked that. 

“I had a bad dream,” he whispered, holding his blanket really tightly with both his hands. 

“Oh,” Cain said. He rubbed at his face. One of his cheeks was really red, because he had been lying on it. 

“I-I’m sorry, I c-can go, I’m—” Charles didn’t know what else to say. His bottom lip was wobbling but he wasn’t going to cry because he  _ wasn’t _ a baby, not anymore, but he was scared and his room was so dark and he didn’t want to go back and—

And then Cain lifted his blanket up.

Charles stared—Cain was only wearing a pair of underwear, which seemed odd to him because Charles  _ always _ wore his pyjamas to bed, but maybe because Cain was older he didn’t need to wear as much—and he didn't know what to do. Cain’s eyes closed for a second, two seconds,  _ three _ seconds and Charles thought maybe Cain had fallen back asleep with his arm in the air, but then they opened again. 

“C’mere, Charlie,” Cain said quietly, and Charles realized what he wanted. 

“Oh,” Charles whispered. 

Mother and Father never let Charles sleep in their bed. Mr. Marko had made Mother move their bedroom to a whole different floor. Charles had  _ never _ slept in a bed other than his own, not that he could ever remember, but Cain was telling him to come, so Charles scrambled up onto Cain’s bed as quickly as he could in case he changed his mind. 

Cain’s bed was big and warm, and it had Cain in it. Cain, who promised to be his big brother and protect him. Cain, who waited for Charles to lie down and then put his blanket back over them, scooting really close to Charles and then putting his arm around Charles’ stomach to hug him. Cain’s forehead resting against his shoulder, and Charles lied on his back very, very still, not knowing what to do. 

“I’ll protect you,” Cain said into his arm. Charles giggled again, because Cain’s lips tickled his skin. 

Charles turned onto his side to look at Cain. They were using the same pillow, so Cain was  _ really _ close. His eyes were really dark because the room was dark, but Charles could pick out little lines of gold around his iris. Cain’s hand fell to his back and patted him, before it slipped under his pyjama shirt. That felt really nice, because Cain was warm. 

“I miss my father,” Charles whispered quietly. 

“I miss my mom,” Cain whispered back, just as quietly, so Charles slipped his arm around Cain’s side to hug him, too. 

“I won’t let you have any nightmares either,” Charles whispered, and then he darted forward to kiss Cain’s chin. 

Cain smiled at him and wished him goodnight, so Charles did too. Cain’s eyes closed, since he was probably really tired. Charles wasn’t as tired because his dream had been  _ really _ bad, but he didn’t feel scared anymore, not at all. Cain would protect him, and Charles would protect Cain, and neither of them would have any nightmares. 

Charles was sure of it. 

**2.**

Charles woke with a scream dying on his lips, mouth hanging open as he  _ heaved _ for breath because  _ everything hurt _ and he didn’t know why. What was going on? Charles blinked his eyes open and he was alone, in his room just like he should be, but his head  _ hurt, _ so bad, and it was making everything else hurt too and he didn’t know why. He touched his forehead but it was just his skin and there were no cracks even though it felt like his head was going to split open.

Why did it hurt? _Everything_ _hurt_ and he didn’t know why. It was so loud but he didn’t know why. Charles didn’t know _anything_ and he was scared, he was so scared. He grabbed his head, pulled his hair, but it was still so loud. Covering his ears didn’t help because the _voices_ were still screaming and they were _in his mind—_

So loud. Nothing made any sense, and it was so loud, and there were so many voices, voices, voices. All he could hear were the voices but he wasn't hearing them in his ears, he was hearing them in his  _ mind _ and it didn’t make any sense.

It didn’t make any sense. 

Charles shoved himself out of his bed, but his legs got wrapped up in his blankets and he fell to the floor. He whimpered, but the pain in his head was so bad that he barely felt the throbbing of his wrist.  _ What was going on? _ He could barely think through the pain enough to stand up, but he pushed himself onto shaking legs and tried to ignore the way his knees were wobbling. It was only a handful of steps to his door, a few across the hall. 

Cain’s door was closed and Charles rested against it as another wave of pain doubled him over. Voices were  _ shouting _ in his head, so many of them that it didn’t make any sense. The voices were familiar but he couldn’t figure out how, not with how many of them there were, and he just wanted it to  _ stop. _ He put his head against the cool wood and realized he was crying, and he couldn’t stop.

He threw open Cain’s door. The knob made a loud enough noise when it hit the wall that Cain started shifting around. Charles’ eyes zeroed in on him and the voices quieted for a moment, only a moment, and then they were back and it felt like he could hear  _ Cain _ even though he was looking at his brother and he wasn’t saying anything. 

It didn’t make any sense. Nothing made sense but it  _ hurt _ even when the voices quieted and it was just Cain, so  _ loud _ as he woke up. Thoughts that weren’t Charles’ were bouncing around his head and it didn’t make any sense and he was  _ scared. _ He was so, so scared. 

“Charlie,” Cain asked worriedly, throwing his blanket off him as Charles stumbled forward and fell onto his bed and—

_ Holy shit! Charlie? What the fuck was wrong. Should he get Dad? Fuck no, he’d only be pissed at being woken up. Would any of the staff be around? What would help? He didn’t know how to help but Charlie was crying and he had to do  _ something. _ Charlie was  _ his, _ his little brother and his to keep safe and protect but he didn’t know what was wrong, what the fuck was wrong— _

Charles fell onto Cain’s bed weakly. His brother reached out and pulled him the rest of the way up and into him. Cain was half sitting, and Charles fell right against his chest, letting his big brother wrap him in his arms. Cain always made him feel safe. So safe. He had promised, once, a few years ago, to protect Charles and he had never broken his promise, not ever. 

“It’s so loud,” Charles whimpered, curling into Cain’s chest as he whispered again. “Cain, it’s all so loud.”

“Charlie, I don’t know what to do,” Cain said, panicked, and it didn’t make Charles feel any better because he didn’t know what to do either. All he wanted was Cain, his big brother, to make it stop hurting just like he always did, like he had promised to do, but he didn’t know how Cain could do that and Cain didn’t know how to do that either and nothing made sense and everything hurt and it was all so loud and—

_ Just hold me, _

“D-Did you just say something?” Cain asked, but his mind, his  _ mind _ was whirling.

“No,” he whispered, and then he closed his eyes and focused on the warmth of Cain’s  _ thoughts, _ the hot, protective fury he could feel building higher and higher as Charles kept whimpering, unable to fight down the noises of pain.

_ I don’t know what’s going on, _ Charles thought  _ at _ Cain’s mind, and Cain gasped but didn’t push him away, even though Charles was  _ hearing his thoughts  _ like some kind of monster. 

“Don’t you dare say that about yourself,” Cain swore sharply, hugging Charles so tight it hurt but it was exactly what he needed. Cain. Cain was what he needed, what he always needed, because his big brother always kept him safe. 

“Charlie, it’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll figure it out together,” Cain promised him and Charles believed him. 

It was going to be okay, somehow, because he had Cain and Cain had him, and that was all Charles had ever needed. 

It was going to be okay. 

**3.**

Charles woke up slowly, whining a little as he stretched his back in a long arch. Something was pulling him towards consciousness no matter how badly he was trying to cling to sleep, drifting pleasantly in a lovely dream. He could still remember it: the pretty lake out behind their house and the warm summer sun, Cain with him, bronze and shining like a  _ statue,  _ looking nothing like Charles who burned instead of tanned but wanting to be with him anyway. They had been swimming, and then Cain had picked him up and thrown him back into the water, and they were laughing and laughing and laughing.

Charles wanted to keep laughing, but something made the pretty picture blur until he couldn’t even see Cain in his dream, until he was barely even  _ dreaming _ and was grumbling himself awake. He dug his face into his pillow as he made a snuffling noise, finding the cold edge of the pillow and then—

“Ack!” Charles squeaked, jerking his hips back when something poked his belly. He opened his eyes slowly, confused when he realized he wasn’t alone. Charles brought a hand to his eyes weakly, rubbing his face with his knuckles as he squinted into the dark. “Cain?” he asked blearily, trying to figure out what was going on.

He wasn’t only dreaming about Cain. No, Cain was lying right in front of him, his head resting on Charles’ pillow and his face close enough that Charles’ eyes went a little cross-eyed before he shifted back so he could actually see him. 

And then he wished he hadn’t, because Cain looked  _ horrible.  _

“Hi, Charlie,” Cain whispered, his voice so  _ rough _ that it sounded like it was scratching out of his throat. 

Oh my gosh. Cain’s eyes were red and puffy and his nose was inflamed, like he’d blown it a whole bunch. Charles made a soft noise, something punched out of him at seeing his invincible brother looking so... so horrible. He looked  _ horrible, _ and Charles didn’t stop himself from reaching out and brushing away a tear from the slope of Cain’s nose. 

Oh gosh,  _ Cain.  _

“What’s wrong?” Charles whispered before he gathered Cain close. It didn’t matter that Cain was older; sometimes even big brothers needed a good cuddle, right? If Cain had come to him in the middle of the night, that meant Cain needed him. 

Cain shook his head. Charles could tell that he didn’t want to talk about it, so he rested his hand on Cain’s neck and held him, leaning forward until their foreheads were pressed together. It was something Cain had done when Charles first got his powers and everything was too  _ loud, _ and it always made him feel safe. 

Maybe it would do the same for Cain. 

“I hate him,” Cain whispered. His voice broke and his breath hitched, which meant that Cain was crying. It wasn’t something he saw very often, but he knew exactly what it sounded like, and it made something hot and heavy rise from his belly. 

He had no idea what had happened and it didn’t seem like Cain was going to be able to talk, so Charles did something he didn’t normally do and pressed into Cain’s mind. Before he knew anything about what happened, he knew it had to be bad. Cain had  _ never _ come to his bed before, not like Charles had been doing to him for years. Cain was... Cain was his big brother, and he was strong and fearless and  _ amazing, _ but now he was crying into Charles’ chest.

His own eyes started to water,  _ hurting _ because Cain was hurting. Cain hid away against his chest and Charles held him tight, not knowing what to do. What he did know was that he could start by finding out what happened. Accessing Cain’s memories was as easy as breathing—looking into his brother’s mind had always been the easiest thing ever—and Charles flinched when he watched the argument with Kurt unfold, as Kurt’s voice got louder and louder and  _ danger _ spiked across Charles’ mind. 

Kurt had yelled at him, but that hadn’t been all. 

Cain whimpered, so Charles drew himself back and hastily wiped at his own wet face. Cain was still buried in his chest, but Charles whispered, “C’mon, Cain, it’s okay,” softly to get him to pull back, just a little. 

Then Charles pulled him close and kissed his jaw, super softly. He let his lips trail over everywhere that hurt, using his connection with Cain’s mind to make sure he wasn’t pressing kisses that were too hard to his brother’s face. He didn’t know what to do or how to make anything better, but he could do this and he could hope that it would be enough. Charles only pulled back once he’d kissed everywhere that still hurt, hoping his lips could soothe some of the sting and then... taking the pain away when his kisses weren’t enough. 

When Cain had stopped crying and was just breathing deeply, Charles finally let out a breath. He... he wasn’t big enough to deal with this, but maybe Cain wasn’t either. Charles  _ always _ ran to Cain whenever he was scared. He knew it was silly, that it was childish, but... he hadn’t thought that Cain ever got scared, not really. But here he was, his perfect big brother, huddled in his arms in the dead of night. 

And that made Charles feel stronger than anything else he’d ever gone through. 

“Thank you for coming to me,” Charles whispered, touching Cain’s lips with his fingers. He wanted something he didn’t know how to name, and it scared him. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Cain whispered back, but Charles didn’t even let him finish. 

Rather, he pushed his sincerity at Cain’s mind, and held his eyes as he swore,  _ Don’t you  _ ever _ say sorry for needing me. You’re my  _ big brother _ and I love you more than anyone else.  _

_ I’m supposed to be strong.  _

_ You are  _ so _ strong, Cain. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, _ Charles promised him, drawing Cain into his mind so he could see for himself that he meant the words with every fibre of his being. 

“Go to sleep, Cain,” Charles whispered, holding him tight and tangling their legs together until he didn’t know who was who. “I’ll stay up tonight and keep you safe.”

“W-What if he comes back?” Cain whispered, sounding so scared it made Charles' heart ache. 

In a voice that Charles had  _ never _ heard from himself before, Charles vowed, “He isn’t going to hurt you again tonight. I promise you that.” 

Cain whimpered but nodded, holding onto Charles even tighter. He didn’t know what, exactly, he would do, but Charles knew if Kurt came here trying to hurt Cain, it would be the last thing he ever did. 

**4.**

Charles was  _ not _ scared. Being scared would be absolutely ridiculous and Charles was  _ not _ ridiculous. Or scared. No. Not at all. His room was just dark. Unusually dark. His room was  _ not _ always this dark, not at all, and Charles  _ wasn’t _ just thinking that because he was scared. No, that wouldn’t even be possible. Because he wasn’t scared. Nope. Charles was  _ fourteen, _ he wasn’t scared of anything!

Except... the shadows were totally moving and Charles  _ was _ afraid!

Totally  _ not _ squeaking, Charles scrambled to his feet and shuffled as quickly and quietly as physically possible across his room, keeping his eyes on his bedroom door and absolutely nothing else. If he turned, the shadows would consume him and he did  _ not _ want to be consumed by shadows, no thank you!

Charles all but threw himself across the hall the second his door was closed behind him, and he didn’t hesitate for even a second before he was slipping into Cain’s room and all but flying to his bed. He lifted Cain’s comforter easily, the feel of the fabric familiar under his fingers. He slid bare legs against Cain’s sheets—his brother had gotten a new pair for his birthday, and they were so soft Charles slept here some nights just because they felt so good—and moved close. 

“Cain,” he whispered, snuggling in when his big brother lifted his arm without even opening his eyes. “Cain, wake up.”

“Wah?” Cain asked, a silly noise more than a word, and Charles snorted. Cain blinked a few times, and Charles tapped his chin. “Charlie?”

“Yeah,” Charles whispered, tangling their legs together and making a happy little noise in the back of his throat when Cain’s arm slipped around his waist and drew him even closer. 

Charles let out a relieved sigh as he snuggled right on in. All at once, the tense line of Charles’ shoulders eased and the quick churning of his thoughts slowed down to a steady, familiar crawl. Warmth bloomed in his chest and spread across his limbs, until he was perfectly comfortable and perfectly content, cuddled up against his brother. 

“You okay?” Cain asked, his chin digging into Charles’ forehead as he tried to hide face in his brother’s throat. 

But Cain, the  _ meanie, _ wasn’t having that, and moved himself back until they were looking at one another. 

“I’m fine,” Charles told him, but by the look Cain was giving him, he didn’t believe him. 

“Did ya read the book?” Cain asked, his eyes narrowed and a frown on his face. 

Charles blushed.  _ Darkly. _ “N-No,” he said, but even  _ he _ could tell he was lying and he was the one trying to sell it!

Cain snorted. Then, because he was the best big brother ever, leaned in and kissed his nose. Charles scrunched up his face, which only got Cain to laugh at him again. “I  _ told _ you not to read it, Charlie.”

“I know...”

“You do, huh. Then why’d you read it?”

Charles pouted, dropping his eyes to Cain’s collar bones. “I didn’t think that I would be scared.”

Cain raised an eyebrow, and he asked, “That’s a load of bull. C’mon, Charlie. You knew it was gonna scare you. Why the hell did you read it anyway?”

“... I knew if I was scared my big brother would protect me.”

Cain made a punched out noise and drew Charles closer, which worked out  _ just _ fine for him. He soaked up Cain’s warmth, very happy the mansion got so chilly in the winter months because it meant the two of them could cuddle extra close under the big blankets Charles preferred. 

That’s what he did now, not an ounce of fear in him while being held in his brother’s arms. He felt a smile curl around his lips as Cain hugged him tightly. There was more than one reason Charles decided to read a book he knew would terrify him, and it wasn’t just because the author was talented. 

Held safely in his big brother’s arms, Charles drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face. 

**5.**

Charles stretched his neck as he flipped to the next page of his textbook, chewing on the string to his (Cain’s) sweater. He had to read the paragraph he was on thrice before absorbing what it was saying, a sure sign that he was going to need to retire for the night very soon. Before he got the chance to attempt reading the paragraph again, however, his door swung open.

His heart was already racing before he even looked up, but he slumped back into his pile of pillows when he realized it was his brother staring back at him. 

“Cain,” he said with a sigh, closing his book and reaching to place it on his nightstand. “You startled me.”

It was silly; never in the ten years that Kurt had lived with him had he come to him at night. His mother hadn’t ever, either, but Charles still worried. He worried about so many things, like the feelings he kept hidden and the lust he was terrified he couldn’t hide, and he worried that one day someone would look at him and  _ see _ and then they’d take him away. 

It was irrational and silly, but the fear was his either way. That fear ebbed away now, though, as Charles looked back up expecting to see his brother grinning at him. Only Cain wasn’t smiling. No, there wasn’t anything even  _ close _ to happiness on Cain’s face, and Charles could tell that something was wrong even in the dim light of his bedside lamp.

“Cain, are you alright?” Charles asked, as soon as he realized Cain hadn’t yet said anything. 

There were about a hundred different answers that Charles was expecting, but not a single one of them was what he got. 

Cain shook his head, and his eyes fell to the floor. For the first time since Cain had entered his room, Charles realized he was holding a piece of paper, crumpled up in his hand. He opened his mouth to ask what it was, but closed it just as quickly. If Cain wanted to tell him what was wrong, he would. Until then, Charles would wait. 

It, thankfully, was not a very long wait. 

“I got into College,” Cain grumbled, but his voice was flat and hard. 

Charles gasped, pushing himself onto his knees as he clapped his hands together. “Cain, that’s excellent!”

Charles’ enthusiasm wasn’t reciprocated, but it didn’t change the elation that flooded him. He grinned widely, wide enough that it caused his cheeks to ache, and the surly look on Cain’s face didn’t curb his happiness. However, the way Cain’s entire body went tense and the paper crumpled even further in his fist did. 

It was then that Charles  _ really _ looked at his brother. Cain was surprisingly good at masking his feelings, but Charles knew him well after the last decade of loving him. Not only was Cain unhappy, but Cain was  _ devastated.  _

“Cain...” Charles started, pained, his chest aching as he watched a tear slide down his brother’s cheek before being hastily wiped away. “Oh, my darling brother, come here.”

Charles opened up his arm and Cain was across the room in an instant, climbing onto Charles’ bed and then knee-walking across the mattress. Charles moved back onto his bum, reclining against his mountain of pillows and then reaching out to pull Cain into his arms. His brother came easy, so easy, and Charles held him close as they settled.

Cain was much taller than Charles these days, but he still burrowed himself into Charles’ arms like he belonged there. Charles wished he did, but now wasn’t the time for such thoughts. Not when Cain needed him. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Charles whispered, even if he had  _ no _ idea whether or not it was. 

Cain didn’t answer, but that was fine. Charles got the two of them comfortable, tangling their legs together and then doing his best  _ not _ to think about how their legs were tangled together. He loved being able to hold Cain like this, even if his arms barely wrapped around his brother’s shoulders anymore. 

“Goodness, you’ve gotten big,” Charles murmured, pressing a kiss to Cain’s forehead and breathing in the soft fragrance of the shampoo he’d always used. “You can tell me anything, Cain.”

Cain nodded against his neck, and a moment later warmth trailed down his throat. Charles held his big brother through his tears, chest aching and wanting to do more, and did his best not to cry as well. 

“I don’t wanna be a scientist. I don’t... I don’t wanna live in his fuckin’ shadow,” Cain growled against Charles’ skin, the words harsh and bitter. 

“I know that you don’t,” Charles told him. It had never been a question. “Father... he’s known it too. He hasn’t liked it, but—” Charles cut himself off and moved until he could hide his own face in Cain’s neck. He wasn’t sure if he should say what was on the tip of his tongue, but... he had to be honest, right? “It has taken nearly a year to make it so he thinks it’s his own idea, but Father will let you go to whatever college you choose, and as long as you maintain Honours, he’ll pay for it.”

Cain reeled back, his eyes wide and his mouth dropped open in shock. He looked silly, but Charles felt too nauseous to laugh. He watched Cain piece it together, tightening his mental shields; he was absolutely terrified that Cain was going to be disgusted with him. 

“Charlie, did you...” Cain couldn’t say the words and Charles found he couldn’t either, and all he could do was nod. “Fuck, Charlie, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Charles whispered, and only wished his brother knew how much he meant it. 

Before he could get too upset, however, Cain’s whole demeanour changed and a smile erupted across his face. He started speaking rapidly, getting louder and louder as his excitement only grew until it was so bright Charles had to smile as well.

“It’s just a two-year program. Not a super fancy degree like I know you’ll be getting, but it’ll be enough to work. Massage therapy. I  _ love _ helping people, you know that, and it’ll be done by the time you’re startin’ whatever geek-course you’ll be taking. Once I’ve been doin’ that... who knows. Maybe I could get into physiotherapy. But the best part is that I can rub muscles from anywhere!”

It was only once Cain was finished speaking that Charles was able to absorb his words, but he... “Anywhere?” he asked, breathless, his heart racing behind his ribs. 

Cain grinned widely, and he tugged Charles in against his chest. He smacked kisses to Charles’ face as he laughed, finally nuzzling into the top of Charles’ hair as Charles curled up against his chest. 

And when Cain said, “Yeah, Charlie. Like Europe,” Charles laughed until he started to cry.

Cain held him through it all.

**+1**

Charles crossed his arms as he leaned against the door frame to Cain’s room, a pout tugging at his lips when he realized his brother was  _ asleep. _ Rude. Humming to himself, Charles scrubbed his towel over his hair again, scrunching a few handfuls until it was dry enough. He dropped the towel into the basket by the bathroom door and rolled his eyes when he saw Cain’s on the floor right beside it. 

_ Idiot, _ Charles thought too-fondly. He used his toes to place Cain’s towel in the basket atop his own, and then considered his options. 

Cain was passed out in the centre of his bed, propped up on a few pillows. He was wearing a silly pair of boxers and nothing else, his short hair already dry. It was pretty clear that he’d planned on waiting up for Charles to join him. Well... Charles  _ had _ taken quite a while in the shower, so being upset would probably be unfair. Still, they had spent the whole day flirting, riling each other up, and Cain had fallen asleep on him! 

Well, that wouldn’t do. Rolling his eyes, Charles softly padded across Cain’s room, coming to a stop once his knees hit their bed. It was, technically,  _ Cain’s _ bed, but the amount of time they spent in it together had them both thinking of it as a shared space. 

Charles knee-walked up  _ their _ bed, dropping his butt on Cain’s stomach with enough force to wake the oaf up. He poked his brother’s chin, bringing up a hazy memory that had a smile twisting across his lips as he watched Cain blink his eyes open, his hands already going to Charles’ bare thighs, bitten-down nails digging into his skin. 

“Baby?” Cain asked, his voice rough with sleep. “Wah?”

“You fell asleep,” Charles told him with a pout, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Cain blinked a few more times and then all at once seemed to realize that Charles was sitting on his belly and was... naked. Cain’s eyes shot  _ wide _ open as his thoughts surged his warm arousal that made Charles blush and preen, just a little. 

“Ngh?” Cain asked, staring at Charles’ naked form like he was seeing God. “You’re naked.”

“Astounding observational skills,” Charles commented idly, tracing shapes onto Cain’s bare chest with the tip of his finger. 

Cain swallowed heavily, and Charles danced his fingers up to rest against his throat. “W-Why are you naked?” 

“I just took a shower,” Charles explained slowly, shaking his head so a few water droplets still clinging to his hair would fall about. 

“I did too,” Cain said, which was true. In fact, they had started that shower  _ together, _ though Charles had kicked him out once Cain was clean. 

“You fell asleep,” Charles said again, circling back to the issue at hand. 

“Oh, I’m sorry baby.” Charles raised an eyebrow at him and cleared his throat, and Cain hazarded, “You were taking a long time?”

“Well  _ duh,” _ Charles said, rolling his eyes and pretending that Cain’s eyes on him weren’t causing arousal to pool low in his gut. Then giving right up on pretending when his dick started to thicken up. “I had to clean myself.” 

“Clean yourself?” Cain asked, but he didn’t sound like he was listening. 

No, he wasn’t listening at all. Instead, his eyes were tracking up and down Charles’ body as if he’d never seen him before, which admittedly made him feel good about himself. The overhead light was on, and the few times they’d fooled around had been in the dark. Sure there had been a few shared showers, but... this felt different. 

Cain obviously felt it too, with the way he was staring at Charles’ body and petting his thighs and thinking about absolutely nothing at all that wasn’t about Charles’ penis.

“Mhm,” Charles hummed, lacing their fingers together when Cain’s hands moved a little too close to his crotch. “When I was getting all nice and clean for you, you were falling asleep.”

“I’m  _ up _ now,” Cain said, wiggling his eyebrows and rolling his hips, and Charles barked out a laugh. 

“You are  _ ridiculous,” _ he said, but it was fond and laced with so much love. 

God, what a silly man. 

“Ridiculously in love with you,” Cain shot back, and Charles couldn’t stop himself from leaning down for a kiss that dragged on and on. 

Cain licked into his mouth, letting go of Charles’ fingers to hold him in place. 

Oh yes, Cain was  _ certainly _ up. 

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi to me on [tumblr](https://lavender-lotion.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> kudos aren’t the same as getting a comment, not even close. so a comment, as short and sweet or as sprawling and sporadic as you can manage, would be _greatly_ appreciated! don't know what to comment? how about _”this was great!”_ or _“awesome work!”_
> 
> i run an 18+ x-men discord server! check it out [here!](https://discord.gg/pebvUEnWB6)


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